Blueprints For Success
Hammering together a business with something extra.
Sandra Ramsey Hale and Joan Marie Rowland didn't come from
the school of hard hats, yet these interior designers-turned-home
builders are adding finesse to the construction industry.
"As interior designers, we were disillusioned by some of
the builders' practices," says Hale, 39, co-owner of San
Simeon Custom Homes in Kingwood, Texas. "They weren't
exactly upfront with clients."
For example, home buyers were often told their investments would
include allowances for carpeting, wallpaper and the like, but they
typically wound up with considerably less than they were promised.
The entrepreneurs, who worked together in the interior design
company Rowland still owns, also had the unenviable task of telling
new homeowners they couldn't purchase exactly what they wanted.
Reasoning that "cost plus" construction was a better way
to go, the pair formed San Simeon in 1996 with the backing of a
satisfied customer.
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"My father is a custom-home builder, my grandfather was a
home builder and so is my brother," says Rowland, 63, who had
always wanted to follow in the family tradition.
Now she's following in their footsteps, but with a twist.
Because of the women's interior design backgrounds, San Simeon
homes all have that something extra. "We've come up with
very innovative features such as a different fireplace design,
light fixtures or hardware," says Rowland.
Initially some subcontractors may question their approach, says
Hale, but their distinctive designs and hands-on working style have
earned the women respect from even the most skeptical industry
insiders. Home buyers in the area also seem to like the
results--the partners are projecting 1999 sales of $5 million.
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